After two decades of delays by the government and innumerable demonstrations by journalists and civil society groups, Ghana last week passed a long-awaited Right to Information (RTI) bill. The law, which seeks to codify access to Ghana’s public institutions is a bid to ensure transparency in the fight against corruption.

But journalist and activists worry the new legislation, which will be signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo, could be used as a tool for the government to limit how journalists share or leak information on popular online platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Social media has played a prominent role in allowing investigative news to flourish by enabling journalists and citizens, often anonymously, to release leaked government documents.

Ghana ranks as the seventh least corrupt country in Africa, but still has a long way to go in the fight against institutionalized corruption. In a recent survey conducted by the University of Ghana, 88% of respondents said they strongly believe there is corruption in the country’s government ministries.

The two decades that saw the new law languish coincided with an increase in the number of assaults against Ghanaian journalists. From 2005 to 2014, there were a staggering 138 incidents of violence against journalists, most of them carried out by members of the police, military and affiliates of political parties. In January, a journalist who exposed corruption in the Ghana Football Association (GFA) was shot dead in a drive-by shooting. Ahmed Hussein-Suale, the victim, was part of a team of investigative reporters who filmed former GFA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi accepting bribes. Nyantakyi was fired by FIFA and fined $500,000.